Identity
by WolfKael
Summary: Aoko is in danger, and Kaito finally has what he's looking for. But, in order to save that which he loves most, what will he do?
1. Discovery

He had finally found it – Pandora – the pulsating red gem was in his hand, but he wasn't enjoying it. Why?

Aoko was being held over the edge of a building by Snake.

"So, Kid, what're you going to do?" he asked, putting the barrel of the gun to her temple, "She'll die unless you hand over Pandora." Kaito kept up his calm, poker-faced façade, nonetheless betrayed by his eyes. "Put it down…now!" Snake hissed. Kaito put the gem down. "Now, take off your mantle and throw it over there…good, good."

One of the crows checked carefully to make sure that the mantle had no wire attached to it, and then nodded at Snake, who grinned, and signaled a lackey to grab Pandora. The underling obeyed and handed it to him. Kaito ground his teeth; He knew very well that snake would kill Aoko and him as soon as he got it. Kaito had no idea what to do. _Keh, Kuroba has so many decks of cards it could make your head swim!_ Wait…that was what Hakuba said! Why was he thinking of _Hakuba_ of all people at a time like this?! And then it clicked. In moments, the entire rooftop was hidden in a flurry of cards. Kaito rushed forward, just in time to see Aoko fall. Kaito grabbed Pandora from Snake and dove over the edge himself. He had only moments to save her, and even then, he couldn't use the hang-glider. He grabbed her and pulled her close, bracing her against him. He rolled mid-air in hopes of using his body to cushion her fall.

"Goodbye…Aoko," he whispered almost inaudibly and braced himself for the soon-to-come impact.

"Goodbye…Aoko."

Those words rang in Aoko's mind. The voice sounded familiar, but for some reason, she couldn't place it. She was still blindfolded and falling, but someone was clutching her tight.

When they hit the ground she could hear an audible crack, most likely from the body of whoever cushioned her fall. She felt bruised and pretty sure her leg had broken, but was alive. She removed her blindfold to see her savior. The first thing she saw was white, and then her eyes grew accustomed to seeing again and she gasped. It was Kaitou Kid! There was blood pooling around him, his eyelids flickering. When she caught a glimpse of sapphire eyes, she knew exactly who had saved her. She pulled off the monocle and hat, dropping them on the ground. She had been right. Kid was Kaito Kuroba, her childhood friend. Betrayal flooded through her. Her best friend had been the one to taunt her dad almost every night. The boy who was her father's only passion. It made her sick. She turned. _Let him die right there,_ she thought viciously. She made the mistake of looking back. She was him, running from her and her mop, his teasing about her underwear, and stopped, walking back over. She grabbed him and dragged him into an old warehouse. She couldn't let him die. She knew that if she did, she'd never forgive herself. Besides, what about Mrs. Kuroba? Her husband was already dead. If Kaito died, she'd be alone. That done, she set him down. His pulse was fluttery, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. He cracked open his eyes.

"Aoko, take the jewel and throw it into the air, hurry!" he hissed, handing her the jewel, which was oozing red liquid.

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"Don't! If you give that liquid to him, you can easily save him, miss." Stated Snake, who appeared from around the corner.

"Aoko, don't listen to him. It _is _rumored that the Pandora will give you eternal life, but my father died to destroy it, and I am willing to follow suit should I succeed. Please Aoko, don't listen to him!" Kaito argued, his breathing labored.

"If you give him some of that elixir then he will live."

"Maybe, Maybe not, But who wants to be immortal? Leaving everyone behind while you pass on, unchanged."

"Shut up! Both of you!" Aoko screamed. She threw the gemstone into the air. Kaito pulled out his gun, loaded in an unusual card, and fired. The card hit the jewel and exploded, shattering it into a million pieces. Snake stared in horror at the shards.

"You fool!" he shouted at Kaito, who struggled to keep breathing, "That may have been your only chance at survival!"

"No matter, the reason I hunted that jewel was to destroy it!" Kaito hissed, his eyes dulling. Seconds later, he collapsed.

"Kaito!" Aoko shouted, holding him closed. He was still breathing, but barely managing to.

"This is the police! Put your hands up!" shouted inspector Nakamori. Snake dropped his gun and turned. Aoko's father then noticed Aoko. "Aoko!" she shouted, running over as the other officers arrested Snake and co. He saw Kaito and stopped. "It couldn't be…Kid is…Kaito?" he whispered.

"Dad, you can't arrest him, I think he was holding the heists to lure them in, and…and…he's dying…" she whispered.

Inspector Nakamori looked down at the son of a good friend. That son was bleeding all over his daughter. He sighed, pick him up and put him gently in his car, Aoko beside him trying to ease his pain and keep him breathing. He was quite unhappy when in his review mirror he saw Aoko press her lips to Kaito's and breathe into him. The thief automatically exhaled. He saw Kaito's hand clench and relax, and in moments, another car pulled up beside Nakamori's and told him to pull over. He complied when he saw that it was Kaito's mom. She sobbed when she saw him in the car, and she and an elderly man put him in their own.

"Master Kuroba, your father before you will never forgive me," the old man muttered, placing him in the back seat, and preparing medical equipment for the trip.

"We'll take him to a hospital. Aoko, Ginzo, I will explain everything to you later, once he's out of the woods. But please, keep it secret for now." Kaito's mother said, and placed a siren on top of her car, stolen from Aoko's father, and drove off.


	2. News

Aoko had been using crutches for a week, yet no news - it worried her. Every time the doorbell or phone, she answered it eagerly, hoping for news. She was beginning to loose hope when she answered the door and an exhausted Mrs. Kuroba stumbled in.

"How's Kaito?" Aoko asked.

"The doctor said he still wasn't about whether he'll live or not, but for now, he's stable."

"Didn't the doctor ask a lot of questions about how he got injured so seriously?" Inspector Nakamori asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Rock climbing accident," she replied, "And if that hadn't convinced him, money makes people silent." She finished hurriedly. She stood again, "Now, if you'll come to my house, I'll explain his reasons."

Aoko and her father followed her to her house and inside Kaito's room. Mrs. Kuroba walked up to a picture of her late husband, Toichi Kuroba, a famous magician, and pressed on one side, and beckoned for them to follow her through the passage that opened. The two followed her through, and gasped when they entered a large room full of gadgets galore. "My husband was the original Kaitou Kid," Mrs. Kuroba began, to the shock of Inspector Nakamori, "Though it is commonly believed that he died in an accident, he was murdered. There was some crime organization that wanted him to steal gems for them, searching for a certain one. He refused and set out to find the gem himself, to stop them. That is why they murdered him. Kaito found this out a while ago when he stumbled into here through that picture, which was designed to open in eight years. He decided to continue his father's work to destroy the gem and bring the criminals to justice." She finished.

"So that's why…" Aoko wondered aloud, remembering when Kaito had blown up the pulsing red jewel, "That's why he blew it up," she finished. Her father sent her a puzzled look. "That last gem that he stole, he ordered me to throw it up into the air and he shot it with a card that blew it up. It was the one he had been searching for, hadn't it?"

"Yes, that gem was called Pandora. Though we don't believe that it's true, the organization believes that when a certain comet comes by, it will cry tears of immortality."

Aoko thought of Snake when he saw the shattered gem, _"That could have been your only chance!"_ "Why didn't he just hand the gem over then, when I was being held over the edge?!" She cried.

Mrs. Kuroba looked at her sadly, "Because, he knew that they would kill you anyway," she replied, "And him as well, so he fought back; he still is." Her eyes were clouded with tears. She wiped them away, "Aoko, would you like to see him? I'm sure he'll be glad to see you when he wakes up," she said gently.

"_If_ he wakes up," Aoko's father muttered.

"Dad!" Aoko hissed. He muttered an apology and drove home, while Kaito's mother drove Aoko to go see Kaito.

When Aoko hobbled into the room, she immediately started crying. There were so many wires…IV's; a heart monitor, which beeped at an annoyingly fast pace; Ventilator, and more. She sat mutely in the seat next to him and looked at his face. It was in fair shape, definitely better than the rest of his body. The only bandage was for the back of his skull, where it had slammed into the concrete. But his face itself was in good shape. She blushed lightly as she looked at his lips, remembering being back in her car, trying to keep him breathing. Every time he had exhaled, he managed say things that could barely be heard over the siren. The sentence he had managed to say one word at a time was 'Thank you, dear Aoko' over and over, most likely delirious. She turned to see a doctor talking with Kaito's mom out in the hallway. When he finished speaking, she looked pleased, but a little disappointed. She walked into the room and sat down next to Aoko, smiling.

"The doctor says that he's pretty sure that he'll live, though he may stay in a coma, at least until any possible mental trauma heals, but he should heal fully otherwise," she smiled, "I think he'll wake up soon, and then he'll act like always, especially once he gets discharged. He may be a bit weak for a while though – in which case I want you to help him out, but he'll be fine." She breathed; falling asleep for what Aoko guessed was the first time since the incident. Aoko looked at Kaito again and stared at him until she fell asleep as well.


End file.
